Sharlto Copley Says Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’ Remake Will Be Just As ‘Dark, Gritty’ & True To Original

Sharlto Copley Says Spike Lee's 'Oldboy' Remake Will Be Just As 'Dark, Gritty' & True To Original

“They’ve been very true to the spirit of it. It’s dark, it’s gritty. They’re not sort of softening it, which to me was important. And I’m very excited about that movie. I’m very excited about working with Spike and with Josh… I think it’s going to be a film that is really worth redoing and make that idea that is such an unbelievable story accessible to maybe more people than it was originally.”

MTV News speaking with Sharlto Copley (who brought the casting carousel over in the “who will play the villain” sweepstakes for Spike Lee’s take on the Oldboy to an end, when he was cast in May, after a number of other actors didn’t work out for one reason or another.Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen round out the film’s 3 stars.

So, does this calm the fears of those who cherish the original film because of its boldness, darkness and grittiness, and who were concerned that a Hollywood adaptation wouldn’t be as daring, or that the material would be “softened” as Copley put it?

As those familiar already know, the original is one hell of a *messy*, twisted, tragic story (going based on the manga and the first film), which partly explains its cult-dom. It’s dark, brooding, and violent, and, from the moment the Hollywood remake was announced, fanboys and girls everywhere immediately rejected the idea for reasons I gave above – whether this American translation will contain similar controversial elements.

Copley seems to be saying, yes, it will.

The new Oldboy begins shooting in late September with Spike’s 40 Acres & A Mule co-producing. So it looks like this definitely will be Spike Lee’s next film, after Red Hook Summer, which will be out in August as previously announced.